A sailor compares a created part to its design on a computer at the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing in Danville, Va., on May 16, 2025. (Oliver Cole/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — Glenn Claypool was told about a week before Wednesday’s graduation ceremony that his footsteps across the stage would achieve a milestone for a manufacturing education program funded by the United States Navy and based in Danville, Va.
On Wednesday, he became the 1,000th student to complete the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing initiative, something simply called ATDM by nearly everyone associated with the one-of-a-kind program operated from the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.
“Oh, I thought it was crazy,” Claypool said after Wednesday’s graduation, responding to a question posed by the Register & Bee asking his reaction when he first learned he was the 1,000th graduate. “I was like, me?”
Wednesday’s event celebrated 89 students in the latest cohort of the 16-week program. When it came time for Claypool to make his move, a video played on two giant screens highlighting the last four years of the ATDM program.
When it stopped, audience members jumped to their feet and a thunderous applause commenced as Claypool walked across the stage to receive his certificate in non-destructive testing, one of the five programs of study.
“Even though my story is unique, I feel like I’m just a representative of everyone here,” he told the media, responding to a Register & Bee question. “We all came looking for skills and opportunities.”
Walking across the stage was “amazing” to him.
“It felt like I was part of something special,” he said of the gravity of the moment. “I felt like ATDM is really on the rise.”
What it’s about
The graduates are needed to fill a gap in the defense manufacturing workforce, according to the U.S. Navy. Over the next 10 years, at least 100,000 workers will be needed between new construction orders from Congress and sustaining the current fleet of ships and submarines.
Scholarships essentially pay for all of the training and housing for a student while they are in Danville. The only out-of-pocket expenses are meals and any personal costs that may occur.
A new 100,000-square-foot facility opened early this year to house the five training tracks under one roof. There’s another building undergoing construction now that’s scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
That new space will be for program support staff.
“Graduates of this program are not just entering a workforce; you are stepping into a mission,” U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, told the crowd of hundreds gathered at the institute in the keynote address.
Although this was the first time Kiggans came to Danville, she hears about it all the time in Washington, D.C.
“Your ears should be ringing a lot of the time because we specifically talk about Danville,” she said. “We specifically talk about the skill trade workforce.”
The program launched about four years ago and was housed at Danville Community College. Outgrowing space there, it moved to the campus of the institute, where two more buildings had to rise to accommodate the rapidly growing program.
“By 2027, we will be training 800 to 1,000 students every single year,” Telly Tucker, the president of the institute, said, responding to a question from the newspaper.
He said it took the pilot program a while to scale up and get the needed infrastructure in place to support it.
“It’s so meaningful to me because we talk about you in the halls of Congress almost every day,” Kiggans said.
“So just know that,” the member of Congress continued. “Know that we prioritize the work that you do.”
Tucker called Wednesday a “major accomplishment” that gives him and the staff there a “tremendous sense of pride.”
How it changes lives
Some of the graduates didn’t attend the celebration on Wednesday. That’s because they have already started their new jobs.
In fact, about 85% of the completers have a position sealed before they finish the 600-plus-hour program that runs across three shifts to simulate industry life and to accommodate the number of students.
Claypool has a job lined up in South Carolina. He found his way to Danville after working in sales for more than five years and realizing it just wasn’t for him.
Even though he has a bachelor’s degree, which he received in 2017, he wanted to get technical skills that would last a lifetime.
“Overall, it was a great experience,” he said of his time at the ATDM program.
“I came in not knowing what I wanted to do with my life,” he continued. “Now, after this experience, I not only know what I want to do, but I have the skills to do it.”
Kiggans also highlighted the program as a pathway for veterans who exit the military but still want to be involved in some way.
Graduate William Kaisen, from New Jersey, is an example.
The impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks drew him to join the Marines, where he served in Iraq for three years.
He was shot there.
“I had taken a round from enemy snipers at the back of my head,” he said of his injuries during his address to the crowd.
“I had no idea at that moment how much the events of that day would have an impact on me and change the trajectory of my life,” he said.
Over the years, the injuries and traumas stacked up to the point that Kaisen couldn’t be part of the military services anymore.
Then one day, he was scrolling through emails sent by the Veterans Association and saw an article on the ATDM program.
Seeing that housing and transportation were provided, he thought it was too good to be true.
Actually, he thought it was a scam. It turns out that many of his classmates thought the same thing when they first heard about it.
“It gave me personally the confidence working with the machines,” he said of the high-speed program.
It also sets up the students for their “next chapter” with jobs, like his in Charlotte, North Carolina, which he landed at a career fair hosted by the ATDM program.
Kiggans called the students are not just graduates but “defenders of our future” during her address.
“You are builders of our freedom, and you are part of a proud tradition of American excellence,” she said.
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